An Ohio man with a knife was shot and killed Wednesday after lunging at one airport police officer and acting in a threatening manner toward another officer, a Columbus police sergeant said.
Sgt. Rich Weiner said the man tried to buy a ticket with a woman’s identification at Port Columbus International Airport, then with his own ID, but was refused. The man, who was in his early 40s and lived in the Columbus area, returned to his car, where one officer was investigating a suspicious vehicle call.
The man and the officer were talking, police said, when the suspect pulled a knife and tried to attack the officer, who opened fire. It is unclear whether the man was struck by any of the shots from the officer, but he fell, then stood up.
As he made his way toward the terminal, backup officers approached. The man, who still had a knife in his hand, was shot by one of those officers.
Weiner only said that multiple shots were fired. He didn’t disclose how many times the man was struck.
The suspect had other knives hidden in his clothes, Weiner said.
“It’s too early to talk about terrorism,” Weiner said when asked by reporters about possible motives. “At this point, this is just a violent encounter between an armed man and the officers here.”
Police refused to say at what airline counter the man had tried to purchase a ticket and where he intended to fly.
The names of the man who was killed and the police officer who shot him were not immediately released.
A bomb squad examined the car and objects on the man that raised alarm, Weiner said.
The incident was recorded on surveillance video, but it was not released.